Declarations Fall Short

Last week’s UN High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS closed with a Political Declaration  to accelerate HIV prevention and treatment and end AIDS by 2030 that some advocates believe falls short, IPS reports.

They point to insufficient attention to key populations at risk, and doubt the strength of funding commitments. “I think what the high level meeting showed us was the gap between reality and politics at the UN,” said International Women’s Health Coalition’s (IWHC) Director of Advocacy & Policy, Shannon Kowalski.

In a piece for The Guardian yesterday, Kowalski outlined 4 strategies governments could adopt to end AIDS among women and girls.

• Talk about sex
• Protect sexual and reproductive rights
• End gender-based discrimination, stigma and violence
• Empower adolescent girls to take control of their lives

Related: Tools To Promote Gender Responsiveness In Hiv Prevention Programs For Women And Girls – blog.AIDS.gov

Related: HIV-positive adolescents need to be rapidly linked to specialist care to have best chances of sustaining engagement with HIV services – aidsmap